I am pretty surprised at the low scores for this film, as I thought for a family comedy it achieved its goals quite well. Plus, I usually hate these sort of schmaltzy films, and so the fact that I liked it is a bit unusual and says something about it. I think the biggest reason was that they did NOT attempt to recreate the famous Doolittle novels or re-create the Rex Harrison film but boldly took the character in other directions in both Doolittle films. Plus, unlike Murphy's first Doolittle film, this one had a very nice infusion of humor--and I THOUGHT, incorrectly, that I would hate all the talking animal nonsense (just like I hated LOOK WHO'S TALKING). While this little film won't change your life, it's a decent film that won't insult your intelligence and will give you a few good laughs.

Also, while I have seen enough of "That's so Raven" because of my kids, Raven Simone did a lovely job in the film--proving she's not just a cute flash-in-the-pan child actress.

The first film which followed after the leading actor's success in The Nutty Professor, with his fast trash talking attitude, was pretty funny, and there was this sequel, from director Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care, Are We Done Yet?). Basically Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) has now become renowned for his gift to talk to animals, in fact there isn't a day when they don't come to him for help, which annoys his wife Lisa (Kristen Wilson),and he tries to keep an eye on his daughters Charisse (Raven-Symoné) and Maya (Kyla Pratt). John does find out that Charisse plans to spend her sixteenth birthday with her date Eric Wilson (Lil' Zane),so he insists she brings him home to celebrate properly, but of course an animal informs him he is needed by the God Beaver (Richard C. Sarafian). He is told that the forest he and numerous other animals are living in is slowly being torn down by wood cutters, and the only way to save the few thousand acres left is to convince the authorities there is an endangered species living there. So John comes up with the idea to save the forest by reintroducing a trained bumbling circus brown bear named Archie (Tank the Bear, voiced by Steve Zahn) into the wild, to mate with a wild female Pacific Western bear. So Archie is taken to the forest and it is clear quite quickly that he isn't used to the environment he hasn't been in since birth, so the Doctor has to teach him a few things first. Then they spot female bear Ava (Lisa Kudrow),who he is smitten with but is failing to gain her interest or attention in having a relationship. With a little help from the other animals in the forest they teach Archie to have confidence and be romantic, and ultimately become the brown bear he should be. Meanwhile in his own life, John tries to make peace and eldest daughter without the talking to animals thing getting in the way, while also trying to stop mean Joe Potter (Jeffrey Jones) taking down the forest. Archie does manage to sway Ava by retrieving a seemingly impossible to get bees nest full of honey, but John might be too late to convince the authorities they are actually going to mate. So to stop the forest destruction once and for all, thousands of animals around the world are seen going on strike, so dogs won't go walking, race horses don't run, killer whales won't perform, birds poop all over Potter and his colleague, and much more besides. In the end, John and the animals do save the forest outside of San Francisco from destruction, and Archie and Aav did indeed mate to have three cubs together. Also starring Kevin Pollak as Jack Riley and the Alligator, Norm MacDonald as Lucky the Dog, Jacob Vargas as Pepito the Chameleon, South Park's Isaac Hayes as Possum, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's James Avery as Eldon, Steve Irwin - The Crocodile Hunter, Andy Dick as Lennie the Weasel, David Cross as Dog, Futurama's John Di Maggio as Seeing Eye Dog, Wassup Fish and Mouse, Resident Evil: Apocalypse's Mike Epps as Sonny the Bear, Jamie Kennedy as Bandit, Cedric the Entertainer as Zoo Bear #1, A Walk to Remember's Mandy Moore as Girl Bear Cub, Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz as Boy Bear Cub and Arnold Schwarzenegger archive as White Wolf. Murphy is still reasonable as the agitated, Zahn and the help of the special effects make Archie the Bear a lovable character, and some of the other animals are cute to look at and listen to also, some of the story is I guess could have been bettered, but it's such a bad family fantasy comedy. Okay!

Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) is more successful than ever honing in on his new animal communication skills. With his dog Lucky (Norm Macdonald) at his side, he is able to help multitudes of animals. His daughter Charisse Dolittle (Raven-Symoné) is annoyed with him. It's her sweet sixteen and two rats pop out of her cake. To appease her, he promises to take the family on an European vacation away from the animals. He drives to the woods to meet the Godfather beaver. The animals are concerned about encroaching humans and the clear cutting of the forest. He needs an endangered animal to save the forest. Eugene Wilson tells him about unique female bear Ava (Lisa Kudrow) but they need to reintroduce male circus bear Archie (Steve Zahn) into the wild. Oppositing them are lumber company owner Joe Potter (Jeffrey Jones) and his lawyer Riley (Kevin Pollak).

It has some functional kids' movie aspects. The talking animals are funny sometimes although Steve Zahn may not be the best wacky voice actor. There is a lot of low brow humor. It could be good but the situation is too manufactured and the cabin setting is too fake. It has some good laughs but the story gets too tiresome. Kids might like this but even they should be bored by courtroom drama and corporate powerplay.